When
it comes to ego-building, theres nothing quite like having a major
part in the only show in town.

Thats
the kind of fame and fun James MacArthur enjoys these days as the second
banana in the highly successful CBS television series, Hawaii
Five-O.

MacArthur,
the 34-year-old son of Helen Hayes and the late playwright Charles MacArthur,
is happily settled in a condominium apartment beneath Diamond Head overlooking
the Pacific on Oahu.

And
it doesnt bother him that a glance over his right shoulder at home
would reveal a panorama of rampant commercialization and exploitation
known as Waikiki.

Theres
one belt of hotels, MacArthur said in defense of his new state,
but the rest of Hawaii is beautiful.

Some
people say Hawaii is spoiled, but I dont think so. Its modern.
Its a part of todays world. I guess they want the natives
to live in grass shacks. Well, the natives want washing machines and refrigerators
and TV sets the same as anyone else. They dont want to be quaint
anymore, he said.

MacArthur
was talking in New York, where hed stopped over after a quickie
trip to Europe during a break in production of the show. Thats why
he was talking.

In
Hawaii, its no secret in the trade, the star of the show, Jack Lord,
who has an ego big as the whole blue Pacific, does all the talking for
Hawaii Five-O.

In
Hawaii, Hawaii Five-O is an immensely popular show and anyone connected
with it is some kind of folk hero. The program gets about 80 percent of
the available audience during its weekly hour. Much of that is curiosity,
since the program is filmed entirely in the Islands with scenery and people
familiar to residents of Hawaii.

MacArthurs
part in the show is no big thing. Lord is THE star and for the most part,
MacArthur contents himself with saying variations of What will we
do now, chief?

He
sidelines with a partnership in a travel company which features tours
of the Islands and the Oahu nightlife.

MacArthur
has been in Hawaii for four years now. At first, he admitted he had claustrophobia
-- a common ailment among mainlanders who move there - but after
awhile you get used to it. And after four years, I thoroughly enjoy Hawaii
and the success of the show.

So
how does he explain the success of Hawaii Five-O, which, after
all, is basically a potboiler detective show?

Once
youre a winner, you can give all sorts of reasons why youre
a winner. Of course, you could all those same reasons to explain why a
show fails, he replied, indicating one doesnt ask questions,
one enjoys.

Among
other things, he said Hawaii Five-O now is distributed to 10 foreign
countries. In Europe he discovered he had fans he wasnt aware existed.